Lake Mitchell August 2011

The second week of my camping adventures took us north to Lake Mitchell State campground. This trip included my parents, Mike and Jackie, Eric, myself and the 4 kids!! Another great week to camp with AWESOME weather!!

Abby was so happy to catch the smallest fish!

Audra was so excited in her casting she tossed her pole overboard. Lucky for her my dad has his boat along to rescue it from the deep waters, that and nice uncle Eric that jumped in after it! The "babies" and their bath timeAt Lake Cadillac, Grandma and the girls searching for shells and smelly snailsWe all took a road trip to visit my G & G Bos one evening. They live in McBain about 30 minutes from Cadillac. It was funny to watch the kids play ball with them...surprisingly they did great! (sorry for the duplicate picture)

Tri Ponds 2011

4 Families + HOT weather = a great time camping!!

We camped close to the petting zoo....the kids LOVED all the animals!! they got to pet and feed them everyday.



Jenn and Holli on craft duty with the girls.


Paul playing playdough with Caleb and the girls on a rainy afternoonthe cheering section for the dads playing a friendly game of horseshoes.

Tri Ponds is a great campground!! They have clean, grassy lots. Clean bathrooms. A pool and swimming pond to keep cool, and tons of activities to keep the kids entertained!

The Visitors

We were so excited to find out that Eric's brother, Dan and his family were coming to visit earlier this month. We were even more excited to find out that were able to stay with us!!

Dan and his wonderful wife Adry and their 4 boys ages 5-11 drove from Stockton, CA and stayed in Michigan for about 2 weeks. There were so many highlights while they were here. Just to name a few... extended family picnics, catching frogs/bugs, Michigan Adventure, ball games and pizza parties, and pool time!

Aaliyah and Abby.... I have this same picture of these 2 for the last 2 years

Dan and Sam in front, Eric and Adrianna in back.

Peter checking out the camp fire

Eric and Brandon

Eric and I took the kids on a walk at the local park. All 4 boys are SOOO well behaved and did great with the girls.

Taking a closer look at the fish

The time they spent here seemed to go way to fast. I know we look forward to their next trip to Michigan! There were so many highlights, I know we enjoyed every minute or their time here.

2nd annual

We just had our 2nd annual trip to Hess Lake!! The guest list included myself, Jackie, Mom and kids joined by my younger sister, Lori and her kids this year. That totals 4 adults and 6 kids, ages 5 and under. This cottage is a 5 bedroom 3 bathroom FULLY FURNISHED house, so there is PLENTY of room for us all.

This years weather did not want to cooperate, rainy and cold the first half of the week. The second half was nice and sunny so we were able to get in our beach days and play outside.

Grandma reading to all 6 grand kids, passing the time while it rained outside.

Getting a little warmer/dryer. Able to be outside but still in sweatshirts

Despite the weather we found things to keep everyone busy and happy most of the time. I look forward to next year with everyone.... and maybe some additions to the group.

Fireworks

A few weeks back a group of us got together to have pizza at Whistle Stop park followed by a trip for ice cream and then headed over to watch fireworks in Cutlerville for Cutlerville days. My kids have never seen fireworks before. Megan hated it and Abby loved them and still talks about them all the time. I can't wait for her to see them again next weekend!

This is a happy group of people!

Audra and Abby enjoying their front row seats at the fireworks.

Sunday Sun

Jackie and Chase keeping an eye on the kids

Today was such a nice day so after church and naps, a group of us decided on a trip to the lake.

Gun Lake was the destination, so with snacks and suits packed we headed south. Megan decided sand and lake water was not her thing and wanted to sit on my lap for the first hour of our trip. Thank goodness she got over that or it will be a long summer for her and me. The lake was already bath temperature, the kids loved it. The guys then headed out to pickup pizza for supper while the kids finished swimming. After dinner one of the dads bartered a deal so all the kids could take a trip down the HUGE blow-up slide they had set-up. Most of the kids thought it was great.

Some of the adults having pizza. Note the big water slide we are about to takeover!
Abby was #2 down and loved it! She would have gone again and again. Addie waiting patiently for her turn.
Megan was the last to go, thanks to Brent for looking like the bad guy making the uncertain 2yr old go down...she really did like it once it was all over.

Memorial Weekend

The weather was a little wet to start the weekend, but by Monday the sun was out and it was HOT!! It was so nice that Eric had the whole weekend off to spend some time with the family. We started the weekend with a 2.5hr drive North to Houghton Lake with about 10 others for a day trip to the cabin on Saturday. The day was filled with a lot of relaxation and outdoor fun with friends. Sunday we spent the whole day with just our family, haven't done that in a while, and then Monday we met Mike and Jackie and kids at the Wayland park to play and then watch the Wayland parade. Did I mention I LOVE long weekends when Eric is home!!

Megan pretending her truck is a rocket ship to the moon while relaxing at the cabin

Eric and Abby talking a jog down the trail at the cabin.

Triple trouble at the Wayland park Monday morning before the parade

Waiting patiently in the HOT HOT HOT sun

Megan showing her excitement with her classic smile